THE DESERET NEWS.
TRUTH AND LIBERTY.
No. 20. FILLMORE CITY, WEDNESDAY, . VOL VIII.
[column 1]
HISTORY
OF
WILFORD WOODRUFF.
(FROM HIS OWN PEN.)
[CONTINUED.]
— I left my wife and friends in Kirt-
land, and walked to Fairport with bro. Hale;
we were joined by Milton Holmes, and took
the steamer Sandusky and arrived in Buffalo
, and Syracuse on the ; walked 36
miles to Richland, Oswego Co., N. Y., and
called upon my two brothers, Azmon and Thompson, whom I had not seen for several
years. We visited the churches as far as Sackett's Harbor, called upon Archibald Pat-
ten, and delivered to him some letters from Warren Parrish, in which were enclosed many
one hundred dollar bills, which he had taken
from the Kirtland Bank.
We crossed Lake Ontario, visited Upper
Canada, and attended a conference, ,
with Elders John E. Page and James Blakesly,
in the township of Bastard, Leeds Co. There
were eight branches represented, containing
300 members, 13 elders, 5 priests, 8 teachers
and 6 deacons. Elder Wm. Draper and my-
self ordained 7 elders, 9 priests, 11 teachers
and 5 deacons: five were baptized by Elder
Page at the close of the conference.
A woman was possessed of the devil and
greatly afflicted, much of the time was dumb;
four of us laid hands upon her, and cast the
devil out in the name of Jesus Christ, and she
was made whole, and gave thanks unto God,
and went on her way rejoicing.
We visited several other branches and
preached the word of God, and several of the
sick were healed.
We walked from Albany to Farmington,
Conn.; attended a conference of the Saints in Canaan; arrived at my father's house . This was the first time I had seen my
father or relatives in Conn., since I joined the church; they received me kindly. On the ,
I preached in the City Hall in Colinsville, and
a mob gathered and attempted to break up the
meeting, with fife and drum, hollowing and
yelling; they were urged on by a Presbyterian
priest. At the close of the meeting the priest
came to me with his rabble, and asked many
questions; he said I had no right to my opinion,
and no man had a right to preach the gospel
unless he had a collegiate education. I told
him I would admit that point when he would
tell me at what college Jesus Christ and his
apostles obtained their education: the priest
and rabble then left.
— . — I preached in a school house in West
Avon to an attentive congregation; after meet-
ing I baptized my uncle, Ozem Woodruff, his wife and son, John, in fulfillment of a dream
which I had at ten years of age.
I visited most of my relatives in Conn., and
preached the gospel to them.
— . — I preached at Adna Hart's in Avon,
where I was met by my step-mother and sis-
ter, also by my wife, who had travelled alone
from Kirtland, and was on her way to visit
her father in Maine.
— — Elder Hale went to New Rowley,
Mass., to visit his friends. I had been soli-
cited to preach to the citizens of Farmington
by many prominent men, but every room which
was offered me, including the town hall, was
closed against me by the Rev. Noah Porter,
pastor of the Presbyterian church, until the
Methodist church was offered me, which he
had not influence to close. Two hours after I
gave out the appointment, the house was filled,
and I preached to a very attentive congrega-
tion, including my father and his household,
for an hour and a half, upon the first princi-
ples of the gospel; I gave liberty to the assem-
bly to ask any questions, or find any fault with
what I had said, but I met with no opposition.
[Column 2]
— . — I left my father's house, and, with
my wife, rode by stage to Hartford.
— . — Not having money to pay the fare
for us both, I paid her fare in the stage to New
Rowley, Mass., and I walked through a hot
sultry day fifteen hours, averaging three and
a half miles per hour, making 52 miles.
— . — I walked 48 miles.
— . — I walked 36 miles, and arrived at
Elder Nathaniel Holmes', in New Rowley, at
2 o'clock, p.m., making 136 miles in a little
over two days and a half. I met with my
wife and Elder Milton Holmes, at his father's
house: I spent several days in preaching to the
Saints in that region.
. — We left New Rowley, and was
joined by Elder Hale, who accompanied us to Saco, Maine.
— . — I accompanied my wife to her father's,
in Scarborough, Maine. We were kindly re-
ceived: it was the first time I had seen any of
her relations. We found mother Carter very
sick. I spent several days visiting the Saints
in that region.
— . — I accompanied Ezra and Fabien
Carter, my brothers-in-law, on a fishing excur-
sion; we caught with hooks 250 cod fish, had-
dock, and hake, and saw four whales; it being
the first time I had ever seen that class of fish
that swallowed Jonah.
— . — We took the steamer Bangor 85
miles to Owl's Head, where we arrived at sun-
set, without means to prosecute our journey
further. We retired to a high hill, and bowed
before the Lord, and prayed that he would
open our way; the Spirit of the Lord rested
upon us, and testified unto us that our prayers
would be answered. As we arose from our
knees, a sloop came into the harbor; we went
to the captain, and enquired where he was
going; he replied, through the channel of Vinal Haven; he took us on board and landed
us on North Fox Islands, at 2 a.m., on the
. We wandered in the dark about an
hour, rambling over rocks and bushes, found the
house of Mr. Nathaniel Dyer, and were enter-
tained. It being Sunday morning, Mr. Benj.
Kent piloted us to the Baptist meeting-house,
occupied by Elder Gideon J. Newton, pastor
of the only religious denomination upon the
island. At the door, I sent for the deacon,
and told him I wished him to inform the min-
ister that we were servants of God, and wish-
ed to deliver a message to that people. The
minister sent word for us to come into the pul-
pit; accordingly, with valize in hand, we walk-
ed up into the pulpit, and took a seat on each
side of him. When he closed his discourse,
he asked me what hour we would like to
speak; I told him at five; he gave out our ap-
pointment, and invited us to his house. I
asked him how many school houses were on
the island; he said four, and gave me their
names. I asked him if they were free for any
one to preach in; he answered in the affirma-
tive. I took out my Bible, Book of Mormon,
and Doctrine and Covenants, and laid them all
upon his stand; he promised to read them.
The hour of meeting arrived, and I preached
to a full house upon the first principles of the
gospel, and bore testimony that the Lord had
raised up a prophet, and had commenced to
establish his church and kingdom again upon
the earth, in fulfillment of his word, as spoken
through the ancient prophets and apostles.
This was the first discourse ever delivered by
any Latter-day Saint upon this chain of is-
lands; Elder Hale bore testimony. I gave out
appointments for preaching in the four school
houses. The people came out en masse to in-
vestigate the principles which we taught. In
fourteen days we preached nineteen discourses.
Capt. Justice Ames and wife were baptized
by Elder Hale. Elder Newton, the Baptist
minister, with his family, attended twelve of
our meetings, read the books, and was con-
vinced by the Spirit of the Lord that our doc-
trine was true, and he had a hard struggle in
[Column 3]
his mind to know which to do, receive or re-
ject it; he finally resolved to reject it, and
commenced preaching against us. He sent for
Mr. Douglass, Methodist minister, on the
South Island, to come and help him; he had
been long at variance with Mr. Douglass, but
they became very friendly and united in a war
against us. We continued preaching daily
until we baptized most of the members of Mr.
Newton's church, and those who owned the
meeting house.
I followed Mr. Douglas to his own island,
and commenced preaching to his church, and
baptized a good share of his members, among
whom were several sea captains. Ministers
from the main land were sent for, who came
over and tried to put a stop to the work by
preaching and lying about us; but the work
continued to roll on. They wished me to work
a miracle to convince them that my doctrine
was true. I told them they had rejected the
truth, and they would see signs, but not unto
salvation.
Vinal Haven, which includes both north and south Fox Island, is in lat. 44°, long. 69° 10'.
The inhabitants are generally healthy and in-
dustrious, and hospitable to strangers. The peo-
ple obtain most of their wealth by fishing, and
fit out annually over one hundred licensed ves-
sels, beside many smaller crafts. The north
island is nine miles long and two wide; popu-
lation 800, and contains a post office, a store, a
grist mill, four school houses, and a Baptist
church. The land is rocky and rough, yet
there are farms which produce good wheat,
barley, oats, potatoes and grass; the principal
timber is fir, spruce, hemlock and birch. The
rasp and gooseberry grow in great abundance.
Sheep are the principal stock.
South Fox island is about ten miles long and
five wide, and is a mass of rocks, principally
granite, formed into shelves, hills, hollows,
and cut up into nooks, points and ravines by
coves and harbors; population, 1000. There
are some small patches under cultivation, at
the expense of great labor and toil. Many
resident fishermen fish at Newfoundland, and
bring them home, and dry them upon flakes;
they annually supply the market with a great
amount of cod fish, mackerel and boxed her-
ring. The latter island contains two stores,
three tide saw mills, six school houses, a small
branch of the Methodist church and a priest.
The timber is pine, fir, spruce, hemlock and
birch, also gooseberries, raspberries, whortle-
berries and upland cranberries; bushes and
timber grow out of the crevices of the rocks.
There is a great amount and variety of fish
in the waters around these islands, viz.: whale,
black fish, shark, ground shark, pilot fish,
horse mackerel, sturgeon, salmon, halibut,
cod, pollock, tom cod, hake, haddock, macker-
el, shad, bass, alewives, herring, pohagen,
dolphin, whiting, frost fish, flounders, smelt,
skate, shrimp, shad, cusk, bluebacks, scollop,
dogfish, muttonfish, lumpfish, squid, five fin-
gers, monkfish, nursefish, sunfish, swordfish,
thrasher, cat, scuppog, twotog, eyefish, cunner,
ling eels, lobsters, clams, mussels, winkles,
porpoises, seals, &c. &c.
. — The harbor was filled with a
school of mackerel, which were caught in
great numbers by the people standing upon the
wharf.
While standing upon the farm of Eleazar
Carver on the north island I counted fifty five
islands, many of which were inhabited.
. — I left the island with Elder Hale;
Capt. Ames took us to Thomastown in a sloop.
— . — We attended a Baptist convention,
and preached to a large congregation in the
evening in Pierce's hall; the people listened
attentively.
— . — We walked thirty six miles to Port-
land.
— . — Walked ten miles to father Carter's
in Scarborough, where I found my wife and
friends well.
— . — I parted with Elder Hale, who re-
turned to Kirtland. I continued preaching
through various towns on the main land until
[Column 4]
, when I again returned to Fox Islands,
accompanied by my wife.
— . — I visited the Isle of Holt, twelve
miles east, and preached to an attentive con-
gregation, leaving them the Book of Mormon,
which they promised to read. I returned on
the .
I continued my labors during the winter of
1837-8, and nearly every person had attended
my meetings, and taken sides for or against.
Our enemies made attempts to break up our
meetings.
. — A company of sailors be-
longing to the United States revenue cutter,
brought on shore a swivel and joined the mob,
parading near the house where I was preach-
ing, and discharged it several times, accom-
panied with small arms, with the intention of
breaking up the meeting. Some of the mob
gathered around to see what effect this would
have. I warned them in the name of the Lord,
and proclaimed the judgments of God that
awaited the wicked, and shook my garments
in the presence of the people, and told them I
was clear of their blood; but they only heard
my voice intermingled with the roar of cannon
and musketry. Before I closed speaking, the
sailors went back on board the revenue cutter.
At the close of the meeting I baptized two,
also one next day, and while baptizing, the
mob again commenced firing guns. The Bap-
tists and Methodists got up the mob. Mr.
Douglas, the Methodist priest, when argument
failed him, applied to all the magistrates for
warrants against me; they refused to grant
them as he had no cause of complaint.
. — I crossed in the mail boat to Hampden and ordained James Townsend; we
walked together through deep snows, and
visited and preached in the towns of Sears-
mont, Belfast, Northport, Frankfort, Hamp-
den, and twice in the city hall in Bangor, to
large assemblies, and returned to Fox Islands viaCasteem and the Isle of Holt. Arrived in
Vinal Haven . Elder Townsend re-
turned home.
—I accompanied br. Stirrat, at
low tide, on to a bar some forty rods from
shore, to dig some clams. We were soon join-
ed by Mrs. Woodruff and sister Stone, who
had a curiosity to see how clams were dug.
The ground for about twelve rods nearer shore
was several feet lower than the point we were
on, but we were so busily engaged we did not
observe the flowing tide until we were sur-
rounded by water, and having no boat, our only
alternative was to wade ashore and carry the
women, which we safely accomplished amid
the reflection that tide nor time waited for no
man.
. — Mr. Kent, the postmaster, showed
me a letter containing two sheets of foolscap
signed by Warren Parrish and several of the
Twelve, who had apostatized and been cut off
from the church. The communication was
full of slander and falsehoods against Joseph
Smith and all that stood by him. It was sent
with the intention of breaking up the work
upon these islands.
— . — I was visited by Elders Townsend
and Milton Holmes, who attended conferences
with me upon both islands, and bore their tes-
timony to the people, but the spirit of oppo-
sition increased to a great height. I was
warned by the Spirit of the Lord to leave for a
season and take a western mission. After
visiting the Saints from house to house, and
praying with and encouraging them, I left on
the and went to the main land with Elders
Townsend and Holmes. Mrs. Woodruff re-
turned to her father's. We walked to Scar-
borough. I left , and walked to Brad-
ford, where I left Elder Holmes, and proceed-
ed to Boston.
. — I gave out an appointment to preach
at sister Vose's room, and I went to Cambridge-
port to visit Elder A. P. Rockwood, who had
been imprisoned in jail on pretence of debt,
but in reality out of religious persecution.
The jailor locked me in until ten p.m.; but
while it disappointed a congregation of people,
it gave me a happy visit with Elder Rockwood,
[CONTINUED.]
CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS.
[Written at Great Salt Lake City, February, 1858.]
VARIED and diverse are the lives and fortunes of men; while the paths of some are
strewn with flowers and ease from the cradle
to the grave, with naught to disturb their
peace; others are marked victims of varied
misfortunes, accidents and dangers. The last
named class is the one in whose ranks I have
stood, through my infancy, childhood, youth
and manhood, up to the present time, so much
so that it has seemed as though some invisible
power or fate was watching my foot steps in
order to find some opportunity to take my life
from the earth. I can only attribute the continuation of my life to the present time to a
merciful God, whose hand has been stretched
out and rescued me from death in the midst of
the many dangers and hair breadth escapes, I
have passed through; some of which I will
here mention.
When three years of age, I fell into a caldron of boiling water, was instantly caught
out, but was so badly scalded, that it was nine
months before I was considered out of danger.
At five years of age, I fell from the great
beam of a barn, striking my face upon the
floor, which came near breaking my neck.
Three months afterwards, I broke one of my
arms, by falling down stairs. I soon after
broke my other arm by falling out of a high
stoop, upon a pile of timber.
When six years of age, I came near being
killed by a surly bull. My father and I were
feeding pumpkins to the cattle; a surly bull
drove my cow away from the one she was
eating. I took the pumpkin he had left, upon
which he pitched at me. My father told me
to throw down the pumpkin and run. I ran
down a steep hill, and took the pumpkin with
me, being determined that the cow should have
her rights. The bull pursued; as he was
about to overtake me, I stepped into a post
hole and fell; the bull leaped over me, after
the pumpkin, and tore it to pieces with his
horns, and would have served me in the same
way, had I not fallen.
During the same year I went into my father's
saw mill, with several others; I got upon the
head-block to take a ride while the carriage
was running back, not anticipating any danger; my leg was caught between the headblock and the fender-post, and broke both
bones of my leg below the knee. I was taken
to the house, and lay nine hours before my
bones were set, suffering severe pain; but being
young, my bones soon knit together and I was
upon my feet again; during my confinement by
this lameness, my bro. Thompson was also
confined in the same room with the typhus
fever.
When seven years of age, I was riding on
the top of a load of hay, which my uncle, Ozen Woodruff, was driving to the barn; he turned the load over upon me; I was nearly suffocated for the want of air, before the hay was
removed.
At eight years old, I was riding in a one
horse wagon with several others; the horse
took fright, ran down a steep hill, and turned
the wagon over upon us; but again while in
the midst of danger, my life was preserved:
none of us were seriously injured.
When nine years old, I climbed into an elm
tree to obtain bark. I stepped upon a dry
limb, which broke, and I fell about fifteen feet
upon my back, which beat the breath out of
my body. A cousin ran and told my parents I
was dead; before they arrived at the spot, I
came to my senses, and met them.
When twelve years of age, I was drowned
in Farmington river, and sunk in 30 ft. of
water, and after carrying one person to the
bottom with me, I was miraculously saved
by a young man, named Bacon, diving to the
Column 2
bottom, and carrying with him a large stone
to hold him down until he obtained my body,
not expecting to save me alive: I suffered much
in being restored to life.
At thirteen years of age, while passing
through Farmington meadows, in the depth of
winter, the roads were drifted with snow; and
in an exceedingly blustering day, I became so
chilled and overcome with cold that I could
not travel. I crawled into the hollow of a
large apple tree. A man in the distance, seeing me go in, hastened to my rescue, realizing
my danger more fully than I did: when he arrived at the spot, I had fallen asleep, and was
nearly insensible; he had much difficulty in
arousing me to a sense of my situation. He
procured means to carry me to my father's
house, and through a kind providence, my life
was again preserved.
At fourteen years of age, I split my left
instep open with an ax, which went nearly
through my foot: it was nine months getting
well.
At fifteen years of age, I was bitten in my
left hand by a mad dog in the last stage of
hydrophobia; he dented my hand with his
teeth, but did not draw blood, and I was again
preserved, through the mercies of God, from
an awful death.
At the age of seventeen, I was riding a very
ill-tempered horse that I was not acquainted
with; and while going down a very steep
rocky hill, the horse taking advantage of the
ground, suddenly leaped from the road, and
ran down the steep, amid the rocks, at full
speed, and commenced kicking up, and attempted to throw me over his head upon the
rocks; but I lodged upon the top of his head,
grasped hold of each ear as with a death grip,
expecting every moment to be dashed to pieces
against the rocks. While in this position,
sitting astride of his neck, with no bridle to
guide him but his ears, he plunged down the
hill under full speed, until he ran against a
rock and was dashed to the ground. I went
over both his head and the rock, about one rod,
and struck the ground square on my feet, being
the only thing visible that saved my life; for
had I struck upon any other part of my body,
it must have killed me instantly; as it was, my
bones crushed from under me, as though they
were reeds. It broke my left leg in two places,
and put out both my ankles in a shocking
manner, and the horse came near rolling over
me in his struggles to get up. My uncle,
Titus Woodruff, saw me fall, got assistance
and carried me to his house. I lay from 2 p.m.
till 10, without medical aid; then my father
arrived, bringing Dr. Swift, of Farmington, with
him, who set my bones, boxed up my limbs,
and carried me in his carriage eight miles
that night, to my father's. My sufferings
were very great; I had good attention, however, and in eight weeks I was out doors upon
my crutches.
In 1827, while attempting to clear the ice
out of a water-wheel, standing upon the wheel
with one arm around the shaft, a man hoisted
the gate, and let a full head of water upon it;
as soon as the water struck the wheel, it
started; my feet slipped into the wheel, but I
immediately plunged head foremost over the
rim into about three feet of water, and my
weight drew my legs out of the wheel, or I
should have been drawn under a shaft and
crushed to death.
In 1831, while having charge of the flouring
mill in Collinsville, Connecticut, I was standing inside of a breast wheel, 20 feet in diameter, upon one of the arms near the top,
clearing out the ice, when a full head of water
was let on to it. The wheel immediately
started; but I dropped my ax and leaped
through it to the bottom, by the shaft and
arms about twenty feet; as I struck the bottom of the wheel, I was rolled out against a
ragged stone wall with only about two feet
clearance between it and the wheel; the
wheel caught me and rolled me out into the
water below, where I found myself without
any bones broken, but with some bruises and
much fright.
Column 3
During the winter of 1831, while in New
Hartford, Ct., I passed through a severe course
of lung fever.
In 1833, the day I was baptized, one of my
horses, newly sharp shod, kicked my hat off
my head, and had he struck two inches lower
would probably have killed me instantly; in
ten minutes afterwards, while driving the
same team down a hill on a sleigh without
any box, the bottom boards slipped forward
under the roller and caught the ground, turned
endwise, and fell on the horses' backs, throwing me between the horses; they ran to the
bottom of the hill, dragging me with the lines,
head foremost, with the sleigh on top of me,
about twenty rods over a smooth snow path:
I escaped unharmed, however, in the midst of
both dangers.
In 1834, while traveling in Zion's Camp in
Missouri, a rifle was accidentally discharged,
and the ball passed through three tents, with
about twelve men in each, and lodged in a
wagon axle-tree, while a man was standing
behind it, and injured no one; it passed within
a few inches of my breast, and many others
escaped as narrowly as myself.
A few months afterwards, a musket, heavily
loaded with buckshot, was accidentally snapped within a few feet of me, with the muzzle
pointed at my breast; it had a good flint and
was well primed, but it missed fire, and my
life was again preserved.
In April, 1839, in Rochester, Illinois, I was
riding upon the running gears of a wagon without a box, sitting upon the forward axletree,
when the bolt, fastening the coupling pole,
came out, which left the hind wheels; and my
weight on the forward bolster and tongue,
turned the coupling pole over on to the
horses, turning the stakes upside down, and
shut me up fast between the bolster and tongue,
but in such a manner that my head and
shoulders dragged on the ground; my horses
took fright, and ran out into an open prairie
and dragged me in this position for about half
a mile. I managed to guide them with my
left hand, so as to run them into a corner of a
high worm fence, where we landed in a pile
together. I was considerably bruised, but escaped without any broken bones.
—Prest. Joseph Smith, sent me
from Nauvoo to St. Louis to procure a stock of
paper. I went down upon a steamboat; was
six days on the way, during which time I was
severely attacked with bilious fever. The day
I made my purchase the fever was so high I
was scarcely sensible of what I was doing.
As soon as I made my purchase and got my
freight on board, I took my berth and lay there
until I arrived at Nauvoo on the .
I was confined to my bed forty days, and passed through the most severe fit of sickness I
ever endured; my life was despaired of by
many of my friends. I was administered to
by Prest. Smith and the Twelve: my life was
preserved by the power of God. I took a relapse twice after I began to recover; once
while in council with the Presidency and
Twelve; my strength left me, my breath stopped, and I felt as though I was struck with
death.
—At five o'clock p.m., I left
Boston on the express train for Portland.
While passing through Chesterwoods, six
miles south of Kennebunk, after dark, and
while going at full speed, we struck one of
the rails which some persons had raised by
rolling a log under it, and landed in a pile;
three cars were filled with passengers, and
their lives were saved by having a long train
of freight between the passenger cars and the
engine; all of them were mashed to pieces; the
engineer was killed, some of the passengers
had bones broken; I escaped unhurt.
On the , while with the
camp of Israel building up Winter Quarters,
on the west side of the Missouri river, (then
Indian country) I passed through one of the
most painful and serious misfortunes of my
life. I took my axe and went two and a half
miles on to the bluffs to cut some shingle timber to cover my cabin; I was accompanied by
Column 4
two men. While the third tree was falling,
which was an oak, over two feet in diameter,
I stepped behind it some ten feet, and also to
one side the same distance, where I thought I
would be entirely out of danger; but when the
tree fell, there being a crook in the body of it,
which struck a knoll on the ground, the whole
body shot endwise back of the stump and
bounded, and the butt of the tree struck me on
the breast and knocked me several feet into
the air against a standing oak, and the falling
tree followed me in its bound and caught me
against the standing tree, and I came down
between them; before reaching the earth, however, I was liberated from them, and struck
the ground upon my feet in a badly bruised condition. My left thigh, the whole length of it,
and my hip and left arm were much bruised;
my breast bone and three ribs on my left side
were broken; my lungs, vitals and left side
were also bruised in a shocking manner. After
the accident I sat upon a log until Mr.
John Garrison went a quarter of a mile to get
my horse. Notwithstanding I was so badly
hurt, I mounted my horse, and rode two and a
half miles over a very rough road, dismounting twice in consequence of miry places; my
breast and vitals were so badly torn to pieces,
that at each step of the horse the pain went
through me like an arrow. I continued on
horseback until I arrived at Turkey creek, on
the north side of Winter Quarters. I then became exhausted, and was taken off my horse
and carried to my wagon in a chair. I was
met in the street by Prests. Brigham Young,
H. C. Kimball and W. Richards and others,
who assisted in carrying me to my family.
Before laying me upon my bed, the Presidency
laid hands upon me, rebuked my suffering and
distress in the name of the Lord, and said I
should live and not die. I was then laid upon
my bed in my wagon, and as the Apostles prophesied upon my head, so it came to pass. I
employed no physician on this occasion, but
was administered to by the Elders of Israel
and nursed by my wife. I lay upon my bed
unable to move until my breast bone began to
knit together, which commenced on the ninth
day. I began to walk about in twenty days;
in thirty days from the time I was hurt I again
commenced to do hard labor.
—While on a mission to the
Eastern States, I drove my carriage, containing myself and family into the door yard of
br. James Williams in Iowa, to camp for the
night. I tied my mules to a large oak tree
several rods from the carriage. As we were
about to lay down in the carriage for the night,
I was strongly impressed to go and move my
mules from the oak tree, and also to move my
carriage. I followed the dictates of the Spirit,
and removed my mules to a small hickory
grove, also moved my carriage several rods,
and retired to rest.
In a short time a heavy rain storm came on,
which broke the tree near the ground, and
laid it prostrate where my carriage had stood.
As it was, the top struck the hind end of the
carriage; the tree was two feet in diameter.
Thus, by obeying the whisperings of the Spirit,
myself and family were preserved.
On the , while assisting to remove an ox that had died from poison
and had been skinned, I inoculated my arm
with poison, and mortification ensued. The
poison worked through my system for seven
days before it showed itself outwardly. On
the my arm began to swell, was in great
pain and showed signs of mortification. I
showed it to Prest. Young, who advised me to
cleanse my stomach immediately, and put on
onion poultices, and anything that would draw
the poison from my system into my arm, which
counsel I immediately put in execution. The
was another trying day to my life; the
poison had so thoroughly penetrated my whole
system, that my strength left me; I could not
stand, I was led to my bed, my bowels and
stomach ceased to act, my speech was like
that of a drunken man. Prest. Young called,
in company with Dr. Sprague, and laid hands
upon me, and rebuked the disease and the
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